


Every time my little world is blue; I just have to look at you

by hawrthiacoopri



Series: Prompted Works [1]
Category: Stranger Things (2016)
Genre: Another one for the books guys, F/M, Gen, I swear I'll do something different :(, more sappy mileven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-27 05:13:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8388604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawrthiacoopri/pseuds/hawrthiacoopri
Summary: Things you said I wasn't meant to hear





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I'm gonna be honest I just really like insecure Mike Wheeler because he's so sensitive and also LET BOYS HAVE FEELINGS

She hadn't meant to hear. She didn't want to hear. She still wished she wouldn't have pretended to be sleeping. Friends weren't supposed to lie.

She honestly hadn't. She was just tired, and even someone as out of it as El knew that you couldn't exactly just wake up in the middle of the conversation that was going on. 

•

"Hey, what's going on between El and you?" She supposed that was Lucas.

Mike's usually calm, gentle voice was embittered. "Nothing is going on. Don't be stupid."

"Dude, Luke is NOT being stupid." 

El cracked her eye open, catching a glimpse of Mike's face falling. 

"Yes, he is. You can't just say that she likes me and have it be true." 

"We're not just saying it! You're the one just assuming she's not interested in you."

Mike crossed his arms. "Prove it."

"Mike, she looks at you like you hung the moon for her. El literally thinks you're the greatest person ever. She's always looking at you behind your back. Are you crazy?" 

Mike stood up, crossing his arms and yelling, "No, are you crazy? What you're saying is absolutely stupid." He lowered his voice, glancing at the paralyzed Eleven. "The only reason El looks at me like that is I saved her. Okay? You're overthinking things. I get you're my friends, and you want to make me feel good, but El is never going to like me like that. She isn't like us. Don't you get it? El's pretty." That made El feel tingly.

"Even with short hair she's pretty, and if she grew it out she would look better than every other girl in our grade. She would be normal. She would look normal. And after she starts school and learns a little more about what the world is like, she can be popular. We're huge nerds. Once she starts getting more friends, she won't need to hang out with us. She won't want to hang out with us, either. I don't get why you don't understand." He sat down quickly, and even El could tell Mike was blinking back tears. He was shaking and sniffling. 

"Mike, I..." Dustin swallowed before putting his arm around Mike's shoulders. "I'm sorry you feel like that."

Lucas sat in front of Mike, snapping his fingers in front of him. "Hey, look at me. This isn't something to cry over, Mike! You're being silly. Of course El likes you. She is so into you, man. You're the one being stupid about this. She isn't going to leave us." Mike wiped his nose, beginning to sit up straighter. El smiled. The storm seemed to be passing. Lucas smiled, punching Mike lightly in the arm. "And hey, if El finds you as pretty as you think she is..." 

Mike's face hardened. The storm was coming back. "Haha, Lucas." 

Lucas put his hands up, widening his eyes and scooting away. "Hey man, I'm not joking. She probably thinks you're mad cute." 

Mike huffed, pulling his legs into himself and mumbling, "yeah, right."

Dustin frowned. "Dude, what's wrong with you? You're always so down on yourself. There's nothing wrong with you." 

"I'm not exactly a movie star, Dustin," Mike rolled his eyes, gesturing to his arms and legs and glaring at the ground intensely.

El felt his words hit her in a way she'd never felt before. She felt like crying and yelling at him and jumping up and hugging him all at the same time. She didn't know what he was saying exactly, but she had a pretty good feeling it wasn't something nice about himself. 

Dustin pouted, clapping Mike on his back. "Aw, you're not too bad, Mike. You're pretty nice." 

Mike jerked his hand off, recoiling into himself even more. "Pretty nice isn't good enough for a girl like El. She deserves someone...." he looked around unhappily. "Someone much better-looking than me." 

•

Eleven decided she'd had enough. She slowly sat up, trying to pretend she'd just woken up in the same way she'd seen Mike wake up. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, trying to look extremely lethargic. 

Mike was at her side immediately. "El!" He cast nervous glances at the others. "Were you sleeping?" 

El looked around before her eyes fell onto Mike's face. She took a second to take in his face; the way his eyes were focused on her intensely, his severe nose, his... what had he called them? Freckles. His freckles were amazing. They looked like little stars on his face. She wanted to touch them, but... there were people here. She wouldn't ever do anything like that in front of the others.

'Friends don't lie,' she thought, as she considered what she should say. If she lied, he might find out and get mad again, but if she said yes-

"El?" Mike looked anxious. "You were sleeping, weren't you?" He gulped, his eyes darting around her face. 

"I-" she looked at him, letting out a shaky breath and feeling herself get choked up. 'Was that the term?' She thought absentmindedly as she started to blink more. "A little," she whispered, so quietly only Mike could hear her.

Mike looked at her concernedly. "What?" He put her hand on top of hers, running his thumb over her knuckles in an attempt to calm her down as she shook her head, her lip beginning to curl. "El, you can tell me. I'm not going to be mad at you." 

El nodded slowly, thinking privately, 'Maybe you won't mad, Mike, but you'll be upset...'

"I- I don't..." she grabbed his hand out of impulse. 

Mike turned to Dustin and Lucas. "What are you doing? Get out, get out!" He beckoned them out, waiting to speak until after the door closed. "El, can you look at me?" El complied, earning a smile from him. "Hi. Now, can you tell me what's wrong with your hands?" 

'Yes,' El signed, 'Bad feelings from you I don't like, made me sad that you feel bad'

"Oh, El," Mike said, automatically signing his spoken words, "I'm sorry..." 

'Not your fault, I was pretending sleep, sorry I'm bad' She signed quickly, pulling her legs under herself and squeezing Mike's hand. 

"No, El, you're not bad, that's ok..." Mike trailed off. "What did you hear?" 

It was El's turn to gulp. She took her hand back, signing, 'You think I'll leave you when I'm at school, and you don't think you're pretty' she thought for a second before adding on, 'you think I'm pretty'

Mike took her hand back when she was done and stopped signing while he talked. "Well, you are pretty..." he looked at her for a little before continuing, "and it's not that I don't think I'm... attractive... you're just... a lot more pretty than I am. Prettier. Whatever. And... I dunno." 

El looked at him sadly. "Mike?" She decided to stop signing. "Do you think I'm gonna leave you?" 

"I mean, I don't know... I hope you don't, obviously, but..." He looked around. "It's just... You're a lot different from The boys and I. No one knows you." He giggled a little. El noticed and thought absently that it was adorable, "well, I mean, they do, but... they'll forget eventually. And then you can just... blend in. But Dustin and Lucas and Will and I, everyone knows us. And they know us as complete and utter nerds. That's not cool. You can be cool, El, and-" 

He was cut off by El's lips on his cheek. She leaned back, looking at his reddening face and smiling. "But I want to be friends with you, Mike," she lifted their hands, "and not some stupid mouth breathers." 

"And I think you're pretty cute," she said quietly, as Mike began learning her out of the room. She hoped he hadn't heard her. She was pretty sure he hadn't. 

But his flushing neck said otherwise.


End file.
